The raids took place at Copford, Stanway and Eight Ash Green on Thursday evening.

Entry was gained to a house in Marram Close, in Stanway, by smashing the glass in French doors to the rear of the property and then reaching in to use the key in the lock.

Once inside all the rooms were searched and almost £3,000 worth of possessions were stolen.

These included gold and silver necklaces, a gold ladies’ Gucci watch with black strap, earrings, and a ring.

Two pairs of binoculars, made by Viking and Hawke, were also taken along with a ukulele and a Medion 7 inch tablet computer, a blue Dell laptop and a Samsung mobile phone.

The other homes broken into were in Searle Way, in Eight Ash Green, and Rectory Road, in Copford. In both cases thieves smashed windows in doors to the rear of the houses to get in. Untidy searches were made and cash and jewellery were taken from one of the properties.

DS Pete Coley of Colchester CID said: “The similarities between these three burglaries, their proximity to each other and the way they were carried out leads me to believe that they were all committed by the same thief or thieves.

“If anyone saw any suspicious behaviour in any of these neighbourhoods or other nearby residential areas on the evening in question I would very much like to hear from them.”

Anyone with information on the burglaries can contact DS Coley at Colchester Police Station on 101 or ring Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.